Desert of the Heart: Oasis
Reno, Nevada is many things. It's a false oasis in
the desert, a home for gambling and the quickie
marriage and divorce and often a haven for those who
don't quite fit in anywhere else. The slot machines
ring all night in the bright lights of the city,
gamblers coming and going, and the city feeds on them
with a remorseless kind of hunger.
Over in a ill-defined neighborhood just past the
church and a deserted school house was a guesthouse,
one that had been running there for the better part of
a century. At first it had belonged to Mrs. Frances
Packer, but when she passed away a few years back and
her son moved away her adopted daughter Ann Childs
took over running the place, along with Ann's lover
Professor Evelyn Hall.
Ann and Evelyn were a fixture in the community now,
though newcomers occasionally were taken aback upon
meeting the two of them. While not related both women
bore a almost eerie resemblance to each other, slim
beauties with similar hair and faces. Some found it
disturbing that two so similar women were lovers, and
more than one friend had jokingly accused them of
narcisism.
"Good morning, love," Ann smiled warmly as she
carried in a cup of hot coffee, seeing her lover
sitting at her old fashioned desk writing away at the
computer. When on a deadline for a paper Professor
Hall was known to rise early and go to bed late,
consumed with the need to complete her work.
"Thank you, Ann," Evelyn smiled greatfully as she
took the cup and sipped. "Ah, that's good," she sighed
happily.
Evelyn, as Ann was often heard to say, was a handsome
woman. While older than Ann she didn't really look it,
only a few lines around her eyes and mouth giving her
character. Out in the world of academics she wore
starched suits and a impersonal manner as armor, but
at home she seemed most comfortable in battered
T-shirt and long pants.
"I missed you when I woke up," Ann murmured as she
bent down to kiss her lingeringly.
"Hmmm," Evelyn purred slightly as they kissed, once
again feeling the fire flickering inside her at Ann's
touch. It had been years since they first moved in
together, but still Ann inspired a most primitive
hunger within her. "Bad girl," she murmured
reluctantly.
"All work and no play make Evelyn a dull girl," Ann
teased gently.
Evelyn laughed softly as she gently pushed her away.
"You have a guest to pick up," she reminded her,
"another one of our divorcees."
Ann nodded, "True enough." She sighed after a moment,
"Is it me, or are they coming more and more often?"
Evelyn took off her glasses, a feature the older
woman had needed to add a few years back. "I think
so," she agreed, "and even though it helps support us
I can't say I like it too much."
"Me too," Ann agreed, "I almost prefer the tourists
as guests."
With a smile Evelyn offered, "We could stop taking
guests, you know. My salary as a professor and your
cartooning would keep us comfortable even without
guest income."
Ann looked troubled, "You're right, but...."
Evelyn reached out to pat her hand gently. "You think
Frances would want you to keep it open?" she guessed
gently.
"I don't know," Ann admitted after a moment.
Later, in the car on her way to the railway station
Ann found herself mulling over that question. Frances
hadn't been her mother, exactly, rather the lover of
her father without marriage, but their relationship
had been close without being stifling. Frances had
managed to be a friend, mostly, and if she hadn't
always understood Ann she did her best to help.
Despite all that Ann really didn't know what Frances
would have though of her and Evelyn running the guest
house. She might have expected it from her, but Ann
rather thought that she had been training Walter for
the job. However the awkward young man had grown up
into a uncomfortable adult, at least out here in Reno,
and had only seemed to come into his own away from the
desert and his past.
Driving the old blue Ford car Ann pulled in at the
railway station, getting out and leaning up against
the side as she watched the crowds with go by a
cynical eye. Her detached, often caustic view came out
in her comics, observations that often saw print in
many magazines both serious and popular, while her
darker works were released only in her book
collections. Eve's Apple, as the series was called,
was very popular but Ann often wondered if people saw
the same things she did in them.
The lady leaving the train walked up, her black hair
falling around her face as she smiled reluctantly,
"Miss Childs?"
"Hi," Ann extended her hand, "Miss Tasuki?"
"Karen," the black haired, half Asian woman answered
wryly as she shook it, "thanks for meeting me here."
"And I'm Ann," she said briskly as she took her
luggage and heaved it into the back seat. "So, what
brings you to Reno?" she asked briskly.
Karen climbed in the passenger's seat with a sigh,
"Same that brings most to here, I'm getting a
divorce."
Ann tossed the woman a look, hiding a frown. While
there was nothing too dykey about Karen she had
deffinately caught a lesbian vibe off her, and she was
a bit disturbed to be wrong. "Were you and your
husband together long?" Ann asked mildly.
Karen's lips rose in a wry smile, "Wife, actually."
Ann nearly swerved the car, she was that surprised.
Recovering her wits she asked "Wife?"
Karen looked amused as she answered, "Peggy and I
thought it'd be romantic to get married in Hawaii...
not one of my brighter moves, it turned out."
"I guess so," Ann conceded, switching safely to small
talk as they drove on. As they arrived at the house
she added, "My partner, Evelyn, is upstairs in her
office. Try not to bother her, okay?"
"Business partner?" Karen looked curious.
"Business and personal," Ann answered frankly.
A slightly sad smile tugged her lips as Karen
answered, "I'm glad for you, then."
Helping grab her bags Ann continued briskly, "Come
on, we've got a room ready for you. Meals are at six,
but we can be flexible if needed."
"Thank you," Karen followed with a slightly bemused
smile.
Evelyn looked up as Ann knocked, taking in the
slightly quirky smile of her partner. "What's got you
so amused?" she wondered.
Ann shook her head, "Just when I thought I'd seen it
all...." With that she relayed what she had talked
about with Karen.
"Lesbian divorcees?" Evelyn blinked. She shook her
head wryly, "I thought we usually just rented a u-haul
and left."
Ann snickered, "Apparently, they went the whole nine
yards."
Evelyn shook her head with a smile, "We shouldn't
joke, I'm sure this is hard on her."
Ann walked over, leaning against the side of the desk
as she gazed down at Evelyn thoughtfully.
"Evelyn...," she started.
Evelyn looked up at her curiously, "Yes?"
"Do you think we've lasted as long as we have because
we didn't get married?" Ann wondered, smiling at
Evelyn.
Evelyn reached out to caress Ann's thigh, "Does it
matter?"
"No, I guess not," Ann admitted as she leaned over to
kiss her lover lingeringly. Drawing back a bit she
smiled, "I don't suppose I could pull you away from
your work for a bit?"
Evelyn gave a throaty little laugh, "I think I can
spare a few hours...."
End.
Notes: Jane Rule, author of Desert of the Heart as
well as many other novels passed away in late November
of complications from liver cancer. This story is a
sort of continuation of her first novel, written back
in 1964 and one of the first mainstream novels
featuring lesbians getting a happy ending. Karen
Tasuki is from another Rule novel, "After the Fire"
though I've tweaked her story a bit.
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